congatec conga-B7E3 server-on-module

The conga-B7E3 server-on-module with the AMD EPYC Embedded 3000 processor, from congatec, is said to offer up to 52% more instructions per clock compared to legacy architectures.

As server-on-modules form the technology basis for complementary rugged server designs, developers can use the module as a drop-in replacement to boost performance within their closed loop engineering design cycles in manifold rugged edge applications. Use cases include Industry 4.0, smart robot cells with collaborative robotics, autonomous robotic and logistics vehicles, as well as virtualised on-premise equipment in harsh environments to perform functions such as industrial routing, firewall security and VPN technologies — optionally in combination with various real-time controls and neural network computing for AI.

The COM Express Type 7 modules are equipped with AMD EPYC Embedded 3000 processors with 4, 8, 12 or 16 high-performance cores, support simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) and up to 96 GB of DDR4 2666 RAM in the COM Express Basic form factor and up to 1 TB in full custom designs. Measuring 125 x 95 mm, the module supports up to 4x 10 GbE and up to 32 PCIe Gen 3 lanes.

For storage the module integrates an optional 1 TB NVMe SSD and offers 2x SATA Gen 3.0 ports for conventional drives. Further interfaces include 4x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 4x USB 2.0 as well as 2x UART, GPIO, I²C, LPC and SPI. Other features include seamless support of dedicated high-end GPUs and improved floating-point performance, which is important for emerging AI and HPC applications.

The modules feature efficient remote system monitoring, management and maintenance capabilities to optimise the total cost of ownership (TCO) in distributed deployments as known from commercial-grade data centres. An extended temperature range of -40 to 85°C is available for selected versions, which is useful for edge server deployments.